Doctor Who: The Volcano of Ignitus
by 101sophist
Summary: The Doctor and Clara head over to the Volcano of Ignitus expecting to receive a tour of the volcano when they discover that there have been disappearances and murders for the past 10 years due to a creature that resembles the sirens from ancient Greek mythology. Rated T because of a little bit of violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Welcome to this story! This was created by my friend and I and we hope you enjoy it! Please review!**

**Disclaimer: unfortunately my friend and I do not own Doctor Who. **

Doctor Who: The Volcano of Ignitus Chapter 1

"Clara! What are you doing in there? I said you looked lovely the first ten times!" The Doctor paced restlessly around the central console of the TARDIS, flipping a few levers absentmindedly. "The tour leaves in five minutes!"

The TARDIS hummed, sounding almost annoyed by the Doctor's newest companion.

"I know, I know." The Doctor told the machine gently. "I'll see what's keeping her, we can't miss our tour!"

"But- Doctor, there's a huge, bloody zit on my face... What if someone famous sees me?" Clara called out of her room.

The Doctor sighed in annoyance as he leaned against the wall of the TARDIS outside of Clara's room. "Clara, even if you saw someone famous how would you know who they were? It's the 51st century! We're going to miss the submarine if we keep waiting!"

"Ugh, fine..." She grumbled. "Men, they just don't understand." She stomps into the control room. "Ready to go, Chin Boy?"

The Doctor ran past her, bouncing with energy. "Well then, Ms. Clara, I present to you- the Volcano of Ignitus!"

The TARDIS doors swung open, revealing an ash covered dock made out of metal blackened by years of intense heat. The ocean around the dock churned around the dock, steaming and popping, as it boiled intensely. Ash swirled through the air like burnt snow and the air shimmered with heat. The sky was black with ash, light piercing through the thick dust cloud occasionally and making it look like the sky was cracked.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" The Doctor raced towards the console and reached under it, removing two gas masks. "We'll need these until we get to the submarine. Don't want to get a mouthful of ash." He tossed Clara the mask lightly, "Don't loose that, the ash is toxic if you inhale too much of it."

"Good to know, Doctor!" She looked at him intensely. "Doctor, has anyone ever died on this tour?" Fear flickered in her eyes.

The Doctor sighed, his whole composure deflating as he dropped his usual childish attitude. "Mistakes happen, Clara. People die." He walked up to her and place his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Nothing will happen to you." He walked over to the TARDIS console and checked the scanner. "The next eruption of Mount Incendia isn't due for another 300 years." He spun around with a flourish, his childish grin back. "And besides, if anything happens we'll get out! It's just a trip through a boiling ocean to a mildly active volcano, what can go wrong?" He quickly pulled on his mask and ran outside, leaving Clara in the TARDIS.

Clara grinned, "He's kind of cute when he cares." She walked out to join him. "Where do we go to meet the submarine?"

The TARDIS hummed, hearing Clara's comment. The doors slammed behind her, smacking her on the back.

The Doctor whipped a sheet of paper out of his jacket, "The submarine should be at Dock 120!" He looked around, searching for the number of the dock they were on. "We're on Dock 57!" He turned to Clara with a huge grin, "Let's go!" The Doctor took off to the right before turning around and running to the left. "Wrong way!" He explained as he rushed past. "The submarine leaves in five minutes!"

"Doctor!" She followed him carefully, all around her was beautiful clear water and she could see all the fish and coral swimming in it. "Wouldn't it be nice to just swim in here sometime?"

"Doctor can we swim?" Clara questioned.

"Clara! Don't look at the water! Focus on my voice, look at the water- really look at it!" The Doctor was standing close to Clara holding his hands out warily, "It's not real! It's an illusion." The Doctor aimed his sonic at the ocean and a shriek drowned out its familiar buzzing. "Clara, are you okay? What do you see?"

"Ahhhh! WHAT IS THAT THING!" Clara screamed, staring at the scariest thing she has ever seen. The creature was lurking in the water with shiny, transparent skin, fanged teeth, and webbed hands and feet. "TELL ME NOW DOCTOR!"

The creature hissed as it spun away from the sonic and disappeared under the murky waves. "I believe that was a siren, Clara." The sonic extended out into its claw form as the Doctor held it upright to inspect it. "It looks like there's hundred of them inhabiting these waters." He frowned at the ocean thoughtfully, "But why here? What's here for them?" He began pacing along the dock, "Sure there's the tourism but that's not enough to be a steady food supply, there's the warmth of the water, but that doesn't feed them. Maybe there's more to it than that, maybe they're more intelligent than we think. I mean, they almost killed you after all.

But why? What's here that isn't on any other aquatic planet in this galaxy?"

"Doctor, forget about it now. We have a submarine to catch." She looked at him with pleadingly, knowing deep down their peaceful outing was over. "Please Doctor. What if they try and trick us again? We should just go."

The Doctor froze and sighed, "You're right, but still, it doesn't make any sense." He glared at the water. "If anything else happens though, we can't ignore this." He looked her in the eye. "Remember what I said when we first started traveling Clara? We don't walk away. I'm not walking away." He continued down the dock towards Dock 120. "There's nothing else we can find here without putting ourselves in danger."

"Yeah, you're right. We will get to it eventually." She followed him down the dock, noticing that he always looks cute when worried. "What are we going see on this tour, Doctor?"

"The biggest volcanic core in the Xentrax sector of the universe!" The Doctor grinned and started running down the dock again, only to stop as something splashed boiling sea water at him. "Clara, stay close to the middle of the dock, don't go near the water. Its boiling at over 500 degrees Celsius. One splash will burn the skin straight off of your bones."

With that ominous declaration, they continued down the dock. The numbers 120 began looming closer, elevated above the deck on an archway proclaiming 'Dock 120: Submarine Tours to Mount Incendio meet here!' The orange letters were dark with ash and it looked like it had been abandoned for years.

The Doctor walked up to the dock, "It looks abandoned-"

"Halt! I need to see some identification, this area is restricted to foreigners!" A soldier dressed in armor remarkably similar to that out of a 21st century sci-fi video game stood to the left of Dock 120, pointing his phaser rifle right at the Doctor and Clara.

"Woah mate, we are just here for the tour? No need to point that at me and my friend here." She gives him a look that would make any teenage boy eat his vegetables.

The soldier wavered slightly, lowering his gun a but before recovering. "Ma'am I'm going to ask you and your friend to follow me. This area is under quarantine."

The Doctor perked up at that, "Quarantine? For what?"

"That is secure information."

The Doctor whipped out his psychic paper, "I'm the Doctor, this is Clara my assistant. The United Federation of Ignitus sent us here to investigate the strange occurrences, but our escort was not at our designated drop point!"

The soldier shifted slightly as he read the Doctor's 'credentials.' "I apologize for that Doctor and Captain." The soldier nodded at the Doctor and Clara respectively. "Follow me, I'll take you to the commander."

"Wow, I'm a captain" Clara whispered to the Doctor. "Wish mum could see me now!" She followed the soldier in to his base, noticing that the soldier looks younger than one would expect- his face mask having slid up in the benevolent environment. "Tell me, how old are you?"

The soldier glanced back at her, his protective face glass had slid up to reveal a pale young face with blue eyes. "They started recruiting people younger and younger as more seasoned soldiers were killed by the devils in the water. I would be a senior in high school if those fish hasn't had appeared. They're killing us all off!"

The Doctor frowned at him, "Fish?"

The soldier nodded warily, glancing around and lowering his voice. "It's classified information to the new recruits. I'm a sergeant first class, Sergeant Taylor."

The Doctor grinned as he pumped Sergeant Taylor's hand. "Taylor, brilliant name, human name. So, Taylor," He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Tell me about these fish."

"The sea devils, sir. The women in the water, if you hear them singing then its too late for you."

"Have you heard them sing, Taylor?"

Taylor shook his head, "No, sir." He paused outside of a circular door marked 'Command' in sloppy spray paint lettering. "We're here. I'll leave you two to go introduce yourselves to the Commander."

"Wait, when he says they sing to you... Is it like what the sirens did in ancient Greek literature? I remember in school when reading 'The Odyssey' we learned all about them. I hope they aren't the same thing because hardly anyone can escape them." She looked at the Doctor nervously.

"There's no such thing as sirens, Clara. Those require magic..." He frowned as he glanced around the empty command room. "Taylor?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Wasn't there supposed to be a commander in here?"

"What? No! No! No!" Taylor rushed in, typing on a holographic keyboard projected from his arm computer.

"Commander Syril was reported deceased at 1750 hours." The computer chirped happily.

Taylor's eyes widened in horror. "I was second-in-command. They only target the commanders, I'm next."

The Doctor frowned, "No, you're not. Taylor stay here. Clara, you too. I'm going to go find out whats causing this."

With that, the Doctor swept out of the room and the buzzing of the sonic screwdriver echoed down the hall.

Taylor frowned as he watched him walk out and looked to Clara for support. "I'm just a station commander, you're the Captain of this sector. Do we let him go?"

"As much as I fear for him going out there, I think he is the best chance we have to figure out what is going on here. The trust me, the Doctor can do anything." Clara looked at Taylor, trust for the Doctor covering her face. "If there's one person I trust, it's him."

Taylor frowned, the sound of hydraulic joints decompressing echoed from his helmet. He reached up and removed it, holding it under arm as he walked over to the intercom on the desk in the center of the rusted iron room. "You sure have a lot of faith in this Doctor." He sat down and punched a few buttons, typing rapidly. "What's his name? I might be able to look him up."

"Umm, his name is uh- John... John Smith! But he prefers the Doctor" Clara grows worried, knowing her lie isn't convincing at all. "Did you find anything?"

Taylor frowned again at the computer. "Do you think I'm stupid 'Captain' Clara?" He spat out the word 'Captain' scornfully. "You realize there's no women in this sector of the Federation don't you?" He placed his hand over a button on his desk, blue eyes glinting dangerously. "Too many people have died. Tell me who you and this 'Doctor' are or I'll call in security to have you arrested and send out a platoon to capture the Doctor. This is my base now and I will not have anyone die on my watch!"

"The doctor is a hero and I am here to help him! If you don't like it we will leave." She gives him a deathly glare, before noticing something he had just said. "Why aren't there any women in the sector?"

Taylor glanced down at his desk uncomfortably. "Any woman assigned to this sector is found boiled alive in the water within their first week here. We don't know why." He moved his hand to his side and away from the distress button, sighing loudly. "Honestly, I don't think you and the Doctor are behind this. I understand if you don't want to tell me why you're here but I have to know, if you're a threat to this base you should leave now because I will not allow you to harm anyone on it." He remained deathly calm and crossed his fingers on the desk. "So, what will it be? Will you help us?"

"We originally came for a tour of the volcano... But now that there's a problem we'd be glad to help. That's what we do. Me and him!" She smiles reassuringly.

Taylor frowns, "A volcano tour?" He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. "The tours were shut down ten years ago when all this madness started." He shook his head, "It sounds like you and the Doctor were living under a rock, miss." He grinned warmly, "But any help is welcomed." He stood up and donned his helmet, the face mask sliding down. "Now, let's go find the Doctor before he gets arrested for running around the base unauthorized."


	2. Chapter 2

"He can never get his timing right, can he? But we better find him." They walk out and they see a commotion going on and the Doctor is surrounded by soldiers. Clara groaned, "What did he do this time?" She walked up to them, "What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?"

The soldier nearest to Clara gestured with his gun violently at the Doctor, "This man was found hacking our files."

The Doctor shook his head frantically, "I was just scanning their files for corruption, oh! Commander Taylor, tell them that I am authorized to be on this base."

Commander Taylor crossed his arms, the reflective glass covering his face blocked any facial expression he may have been displaying. "Technically, Doctor. You're not supposed to be on this planet."

The Doctor froze, "I don't know what would give you that idea..." He trailed off and looked at Clara. "Never mind, I've for a good idea of what did it."

Taylor nodded at the soldiers, "At ease, gentlemen." The soldiers lowered their weapons and dispersed. "Jakob, Stokes, stick around for a bit."

Two soldiers turned around and walked back to the group. "Sir!" They chorused with a brisk salute.

"You're going to help the Doctor, Clara, and I find the cause of all of our troubles." Taylor informed them.

"Brilliant!" The Doctor clapped his hands happily. "When do we start?"

"Right now, Doctor." Taylor informed him.

Clara looked at the Doctor, "What do you think is causing all of this, Doctor? Taylor said its been happening for ten years now."

"Well, before these lovely gentlemen showed up," The Doctor clapped his hands onto Jakob and Stoke's shoulders in emphasis, "I increased the density of their sonar waves and found this!"

The sonic buzzed and the computer imbedded in the wall buds to life, a screen of a sea with a volcano centered in it appeared. "So right now, we're here!" The Doctor pointed to a spot on the map which zoomed in to reveal a little glowing green dot. "That's us." He pointed to the green dot. "So what's that?" He pointed to an unidentifiable blob on the map near the base.

Taylor leaned forward, "We haven't been able to map that sector yet. Every platoon we send in dies."

The Doctor clapped his hands, "Brilliant! Taylor, I believe we have found the source of your troubles."

"Which is what Doctor?" Clara asked curiously, "Please tell me I was right about it being sirens!"

The Doctor turned to Clara, fury flashing in his eyes. "This is serious, Clara. People have died and all you're worrying about is if you were right or not!"

Taylor stepped forward, "Doctor, there's no need to-"

"No need to what, Taylor? No need to get angry? Might I remind you the reason you are commander of this station?" The Doctor swept the table next to him clear of all its contents in his fury. "People have died, these aren't some little creatures out of a fairy tale. These are real, Clara, and this whole time you've been treating this like a game!" He deflated, his fury leaking out of him as he looked at Clara and he placed his hands gently on Clara's shoulders. "Traveling with me isn't all fun and games. People get hurt, people will die." The Doctor sighed in resignation, "And sometimes, the people I bring with me die." He shut his eyes tightly, fighting back images of his friends who died: Amy's face as she begged him to let her die; Astrid driving off a cliff with Max Capricorn pinned to the hood of her vehicle; Rita smiling sadly at security camera as the Minotaur lumbered down the hall. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and rubbed the bridge of his nose to dispel the memories.

Taylor rubbed his gloved hand against the glass face plate on his helmet, "If you two are done we have some sirens to stop."

The Doctor sighed and straightened his bow tie, quickly hiding his emotional distress. "Of course, commander, let's go."

They all then turned and walked towards the submarine dock, boarding the rather mundane-looking submarine in comparison to the rest of the planet.


	3. Chapter 3

Clara looked over at the Doctor, "Look, I'm sorry that I said something like that, I had no idea it would make you mad. I guess ever since I was young, I leaned to cope with things by making jokes as well as trying to be right about everything. If I hurt you, I am so very sorry and I promise I won't do anything like that again." Pain flashed in her eyes, she had always hated being yelled at- especially by people she cared about.

The Doctor gave Clara a weak grin, "I'm sorry, its my fault. Its nothing you said, really, it just reminded me of one of my friends. She never really realized this all wasn't all just a fun adventure, and when she finally figured it out, she ran."

(Flashback)

A thin woman stood by a dead black Dalek, shaking slightly, "I'm not coming with you."

The Doctor spun around, his cricket jacket swishing around his thin frame, "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm tired of it." She answered simply.

"What's the matter?" The Doctor asked, concern filling his voice.

"A lot of good people have died today. I think I'm sick of it."

"You think I wanted it this way?"

"No. It's just that I don't think I can go on." The woman shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes.

"You want to stay on Earth." The Doctor concluded.

"My Aunt Vanessa said, when I became an air stewardess, if you stop enjoying it, give it up."

"Tegan." The Doctor pleaded, realizing she was set in her ways.

"It's stopped being fun, Doctor. Goodbye, Turlough." Tegan's voice raised a few octaves as she shook hands with her fellow companion.

"Goodbye." Turlough muttered, burying his emotions before he lost his stoic facade.

"I'll miss you both."

"No, no, don't leave, not like this." The Doctor pleaded, desperation shining in his eyes.

"I must. I'm sorry. Goodbye." Tegan's voice was hysterical as she ran out of the warehouse in tears, leaving the Doctor standing there helplessly.

(Flashback end)

The Doctor looked at Clara seriously, locks in the submarine swishing as they slowly descended into the boiling ocean. "You need to realize this isn't always going to be fun, I don't want this to be too much for you."

"It's okay, Doctor, and I'm sorry people have left you in the past- but I promise, I will not do that to you." Clara smiled at the Doctor. "Now are you ready to fight these things, Clever boy?"

Taylor walked up to them from the control room of the submarine before the Doctor could respond. "Are you two ready?"

The Doctor grinned and clapped his hands excitedly, "We're always ready." He bounced to the exit hatch and placed his hands on the seal. "Geronimo!"

Just then, a deafening crack filled the submarine and the seal was wrenched away from the Doctor's hands and flung away from the submarine.

Taylor ran forward, rifle firing at the unknown attacker. The light expanding from the barrel of the gun with each shot illuminated the creature momentarily, but long enough so that the Doctor could see a creature just like the one that attacked Clara. It hissed as shots ripped through its body and it squealed as it was flung away from the submarine with the force of the bullets.

"Jakob!" Taylor roared, "Stay with the submarine. Stokes, you're with us!"

"Yes, sir!" Stokes saluted and checked his gun; a metallic, purplish object shaped like a crossbow with a disc in the center, where the bolt would be loaded on a traditional crossbow, which crackled with energy.

The Doctor checked his hands for damage, "I honestly wasn't expecting that."

"Are you okay, Doctor?" Clara asked, but before he could answer, the hatch opened up again and the creature came through and started to walk.

Taylor cursed loudly, "It can walk!" He roared.

The creature snarled, blooding dripping out of its right eye socket, as its right eye swiveled blindly around like a broken gyroscope. Its left arm hung limply at its side, bullet holes torn straight through the joints and its normally transparent skin was greyed. It stumbled to its feet, favoring its right leg over its crooked left leg. It fixed its one good eye on the Doctor, fury burning deep in its black depths.

"Is that... Intellect?" The Doctor rushed forward, keeping the creature at a good distance as he scanned it with the sonic. "You're sentient!"

The creature remained silent as it glared at him.

The Doctor frowned, "I realize this is your home, but its theirs too!" He pointed to Taylor and Stokes. "You can't just wake up one day and decide you're going to destroy the other race inhabiting this planet!"

The creature opened its mouth, revealing a mouthful of shattered teeth. "This-" It ground out the word painfully, its voice gargled and rough. "This-"

The Doctor leaned forward eagerly, "Yes?"

"This... is... our... world!" The creature lunged forward, but Taylor began firing his rifle again into the creature's chest. "We... shall... never... loose!" The creature fell to one knee, gasping painfully, holding its chest with a bloodied hand. "The... Sereia... will... never... die out!" It's voice grew stronger and it pulled itself painfully to its feet, bullets still pounding into its chest. "We shall not let you take us, we shall be no one's slave!"

The Doctor stepped back respectfully as the creature fell forward, dead. He turned to Taylor, "What was that about?"

Taylor shrugged and reloaded his gun.

"No!" The Doctor grabbed Taylor angrily by the shoulder pads. "That creature was alive, intelligent! If it thought it was on the verge of being enslaved it had a good reason too. What happened?"

Taylor shoved the Doctor off roughly. "That operation was abandoned years ago! We stopped! They didn't."

"And that gives you the right to destroy what's left of them?"

"Survival of the fittest, Doctor." Taylor answered coldly, kicking the dead creature over. "They've evolved, they used to be bound to the water."

The Doctor glared at Taylor, "Survival of the fittest, Taylor. They refuse to die out, and they appear to be prepared to survive by any means necessary."

Taylor stomped his foot, "It isn't immortal, and it isn't bulletproof. It hasn't evolved enough it seems."

The Doctor shook his head, "Humans." He said sadly, "When will you learn?" He stepped forward, "Let me talk to them, I can try to reason with them."


	4. Chapter 4

Clara turned to Taylor, fury flashing in her eyes. "Seriously? I know that your mad about them trying to kill off your people but that doesn't mean you need to take revenge and kill all of them. Murder is never the solution. You make me feel disgusted to call myself a human being. You have to let the Doctor speak with them, otherwise, there will be a full blown war."

Taylor looked down in shame, "It's the only solution we have." He looked at the Doctor, "I'll let you reason with them- but on one condition."

The Doctor frowned, "Which is?"

Taylor activated the holographic display on his wrist cuff, "It's six 'o' clock right now, you have thirty minutes to reason with the beasts. During that time, Stokes and I will be setting up explosives around the base of the volcano." Taylor looked at the Doctor, pure determination emitting off of him. "If you're not out in thirty minutes you'll be buried alive with the beasts you want to save so desperately."

The Doctor stepped forward, his face dangerously close to Taylor's helmet, "They aren't beasts; they're sentient, intelligent! And they're scared- scared of you."

Taylor stepped back, tapping his wrist cuff to activate a thirty minutes countdown, refusing to meet the Doctor's eyes. "Thirty minutes, Doctor. You better get going."

"Thirty minutes! Are you bloody insane? There's no way the Doctor can get in and out in that time!" Clara yelled at Taylor.

"I'm sorry- but we are out of options. Hundreds of men have been killed, and I will stop this even if it means blowing up every single one of these creatures. I was given a mission and I will follow through with it." Taylor responds looking Clara in the eye.

"But... You'll kill the Doctor in the process! Are you prepared to kill an innocent man?"

"Collateral damage."

Clara looks at him with pure loathing and then says, in a very serious voice. "Then you'll have to kill me too because I'm going with him."

Taylor nodded grimly, "I will do whatever it takes to defend this planet from outside and inside threats."

"Come on, Clara!" The Doctor called over his shoulder as he descended deeper into the volcano. "We don't have time to fight this."

"Good luck." Taylor called after them grimly, setting the first explosive.

The Doctor huffed as he walked down the tunnel, heat shimmering in the air. "Clara, I want you to let me do the talking, they might not want to negotiate and they may just try to kill us on the spot."

He pulled out the sonic and began to walk faster, following the sonic's lead. Occasionally, the sonic's buzzing would fade to near silent and the Doctor would have to turn around and follow a different path in the winding tunnels as they approached the Sereia's home. "Twenty minutes." He muttered to himself, not noticing the figures up ahead.

"Halt!" A harsh grating voice, deeper than the Sereia who had been murdered at Taylor's hand, vibrated throughout the tunnel. "State your business, humans!" A large Sereia stood glaring at them at the end of the tunnel, gripping a large, black spear tightly in his right hand.

"Ah! Hello!" The Doctor called cheerfully, "I'm the Doctor, this is Clara! Can-"

The Sereia roared, "This is irrelevant! State your business, now!"

The Doctor remained unfazed as he straightened his bow tie, and stood on his tiptoes to look the Sereia directly in the eyes. "I have important information that could change the fate of your whole civilization. So," The Doctor grinned cheekily, "Take me to your leader."

Clara smiled at the Doctor's geekyness. "You are such a dork," she whispered to him.

The Doctor grinned as he followed the big Sereia into a large cavern, decorated with veins of gold and an assortment of shells and metals. The Doctor spun in a circle, admiring the naturally carved cave.

Sereia moved about all in the cavern; some resting in hot springs bubbling on the floor while others bustled about, heading out into side tunnels leading even deeper into the tunnel.

Suddenly, a scream shattered the hustle and bustle atmosphere, "Human!"

The Doctor and Clara instantly became the center of attention in the cavern, or more like the center of aggression. Sereia spit, kicked, and clawed out at them. The Doctor frowned in fury as Clara received a particularly strong kick to the stomach. He lifted his finger to his mouth and let out a loud shush.

The whole crowd fell silent instantly, the Doctor glared out at the crowd. "Clara, are you okay?"

"Yeah... I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, just solve this problem!" Clara insisted, "And you!" She turned to the Sereia who had kicked her, "Watch it! My stomach is sensitive!"

The Doctor shot an encouraging look at Clara before facing the crowd, raising himself to his full height. The crowd stared back silently, still recovering from the Doctor's shush. "That only works on beings with underdeveloped brains." He commented to Clara.

The crowd slowly stared to regain their senses and began to hiss and kick again, "It also only works once." The Doctor added hurriedly.

"Stop! What is the meaning of this?"

The Doctor grinned, "I believe that would be our man."

A small Sereia in a regal, flowing robe stepped forward, greatly dwarfed by the group of full-sized Sereia surrounding it. "Hello." The little Sereia greeted, crossing his arms. "I am Prime, the leader of the Sereia."

The Doctor grinned and eagerly shook Prime's hand, much to the little Sereia's chagrin. "Hello Prime! I'm the Doctor, this is Clara!"

"Greetings." Prime nodded his piscean head. "Now, if you would excuse my rudeness, would you mind telling me why you are here? Its not often we get visitors, and human visitors at that, and to put it quite bluntly- visitors are not welcome." Prime narrowed his eyes, crossing his robed arms.

The Doctor's grin vanished as he remembered the reason for their visit. "You all are in grave danger."

Prime scoffed, "From who?"

"The United Federation of Ignitus."

Prime paled, a rather interesting look on the little Sereia's fish-like face. "What is the nature of this threat?"

"Total annihilation, the Federation will stop at nothing to completely exterminate your race."

"Ah," Prime looked down sadly. "I imagined something like that."

The Doctor grinned, "But they sent me to negotiate with you! I can stop this, you just need to say the word and your people are saved. They just want peace."

"No, they don't! They will enslave us the second we stop our raids! There can not be peace between our races!" Prime growled, the crowd cheering in agreement.

"But you all will die! The Sereia will become extinct!"

Prime straightened his back, "If that is the price of our freedom and pride, so be it."


	5. Chapter 5

Clara looked at him in disgust, "You are seriously going to let your whole species die to save your pride? That is so selfish, you're their leader!" She turned to the Doctor and whispered, "Is there anything we can do to change their minds?"

The Doctor looked at Clara grimly, "I don't think so." He then turned to address the Sereia, "But I'm not going to let you all die for the sake of your pride!"

Prime shook his head, "You still don't see, Doctor. For all that intellect, you don't see."

The Doctor frowned at him, "What do you mean?"

"The Sereia and man have fought over this world for decades, if you think we would surrender to them you are sorely mistaken!"

"It's not a surrender, it's peace!"

Prime laughed grimly, "That's what they'd like you to think, yes."

The Doctor frowned, his internal clock warning him of only five minutes remaining to reason with them. "Please! Don't do this!"

"No, Doctor. You don't do this." Prime waved his hand, unaware of the looming threat. "Restrain them," He turned to address the Doctor. "I'm truly sorry for this, but we have to send a message to the humans."

The Sereia closed in around the Doctor and Clara, chortling darkly. The Doctor looked around and closed his eyes, preparing for what he was about to do. "I'm sorry, Clara, we can't save them." And then they ran, pushing and shoving until they were free, running back to Taylor and Stokes.

"Do not let them escape!" Prime howled at his people, but it was too late. The Doctor and Clara were gone.

"Wait, we're just going to let them die?" Clara yells at the Doctor, "Shouldn't we warn them about the explosives?"

The Doctor looked at Clara, pain in his eyes. "They don't want our help. It's better if they all die now than later, imprisoned and dying a slow death."

The hiss of the Sereia chasing them became more audible as they came closer, the Doctor quickly grabbed Clara's hand, " And in all honesty, I don't think they really want to listen to us anymore- now run!"

They finally reached the cavern just when Taylor and Stokes finished placing the last bomb. "Ah, Doctor. I didn't think you were coming back." Taylor said casually, bashing a remote trigger against his hand. "I think the batteries are dead." He commented to Stokes who shrugged helplessly.

"We didn't bring extras." Stokes informed him.

The distant sound of growls and roars sounded from the tunnels. "What is that?" Taylor asked the Doctor.

"Not a big deal." The Doctor said quickly, "We should go now though."

Taylor nodded in agreement just as the growls of the Sereia echoed loudly throughout the cavern as two burst in, followed by a flood of Sereia. Taylor dropped the remote trigger in shock. "Run!" He yelled at Stokes, "Get the Doctor and Clara back to the submarine, I'll hold them off!"

Stokes froze as he looked at his commander, "But you'll die, sir."

"Go! That's an order." Taylor snarled as he started flinging grenades at the Sereia.

Stokes ushered the Doctor and Clara out, looking back nervously at Taylor. "And Doctor," Taylor yelled out over the sounds of the battle. "I'm sorry."

"Taylor!" The Doctor yelled as they fell back into the submarine and explosions wracked the volcano around them.

Taylor turned and saluted at the submarine, the Sereia dragging him down as more rocks caved in, sealing off the only escape route in the volcano. Then, the roof of the cavern caved in, and the volcano folding in on itself.

"And that is the end of the great Sereia race." The Doctor whispered, placing his hand against the window of the submarine. "Just another group of creatures I couldn't save."

Clara looked at him in disgust, "You are seriously going to let your whole species die to save your pride? That is so selfish, you're their leader!" She turned to the Doctor and whispered, "Is there anything we can do to change their minds?"

The Doctor looked at Clara grimly, "I don't think so." He then turned to address the Sereia, "But I'm not going to let you all die for the sake of your pride!"

Prime shook his head, "You still don't see, Doctor. For all that intellect, you don't see."

The Doctor frowned at him, "What do you mean?"

"The Sereia and man have fought over this world for decades, if you think we would surrender to them you are sorely mistaken!"

"It's not a surrender, it's peace!"

Prime laughed grimly, "That's what they'd like you to think, yes."

The Doctor frowned, his internal clock warning him of only five minutes remaining to reason with them. "Please! Don't do this!"

"No, Doctor. You don't do this." Prime waved his hand, unaware of the looming threat. "Restrain them," He turned to address the Doctor. "I'm truly sorry for this, but we have to send a message to the humans."

The Sereia closed in around the Doctor and Clara, chortling darkly. The Doctor looked around and closed his eyes, preparing for what he was about to do. "I'm sorry, Clara, we can't save them." And then they ran, pushing and shoving until they were free, running back to Taylor and Stokes.

"Do not let them escape!" Prime howled at his people, but it was too late. The Doctor and Clara were gone.

"Wait, we're just going to let them die?" Clara yells at the Doctor, "Shouldn't we warn them about the explosives?"

The Doctor looked at Clara, pain in his eyes. "They don't want our help. It's better if they all die now than later, imprisoned and dying a slow death."

The hiss of the Sereia chasing them became more audible as they came closer, the Doctor quickly grabbed Clara's hand, " And in all honesty, I don't think they really want to listen to us anymore- now run!"

They finally reached the cavern just when Taylor and Stokes finished placing the last bomb. "Ah, Doctor. I didn't think you were coming back." Taylor said casually, bashing a remote trigger against his hand. "I think the batteries are dead." He commented to Stokes who shrugged helplessly.

"We didn't bring extras." Stokes informed him.

The distant sound of growls and roars sounded from the tunnels. "What is that?" Taylor asked the Doctor.

"Not a big deal." The Doctor said quickly, "We should go now though."

Taylor nodded in agreement just as the growls of the Sereia echoed loudly throughout the cavern as two burst in, followed by a flood of Sereia. Taylor dropped the remote trigger in shock. "Run!" He yelled at Stokes, "Get the Doctor and Clara back to the submarine, I'll hold them off!"

Stokes froze as he looked at his commander, "But you'll die, sir."

"Go! That's an order." Taylor snarled as he started flinging grenades at the Sereia.

Stokes ushered the Doctor and Clara out, looking back nervously at Taylor. "And Doctor," Taylor yelled out over the sounds of the battle. "I'm sorry."

"Taylor!" The Doctor yelled as they fell back into the submarine and explosions wracked the volcano around them.

Taylor turned and saluted at the submarine, the Sereia dragging him down as more rocks caved in, sealing off the only escape route in the volcano. Then, the roof of the cavern caved in, and the volcano folding in on itself.

"And that is the end of the great Sereia race." The Doctor whispered, placing his hand against the window of the submarine. "Just another group of creatures I couldn't save."

Clara looked at the Doctor, tears forming in her eyes, "Doctor, no matter what you think, it isn't your fault. Okay?" She placed a hand gently on his shoulder, "Listen to me, you did everything you could and they chose not to listen. Please, for one moment, do not blame yourself. You're a hero in my book for just trying to help them. A hero, and don't you forget that!" Clara leaned in and have him a big hug.

The Doctor leaned gratefully into her hug and returned it fully, "Clara Oswin Oswald, you never stop surprising me."

**Author's note:**

**Thank you for reading, it has been fun to write! Please review whether you liked it or not! Thanks again!**


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